February 3, 2023 — As everyone moves past and out of a year with challenges and uncertainty, small business owners want to find new ways to add or diversify their revenue streams.
If you’re looking for new channels of income for your small business, consider these 3 ideas.
Get in front of ‘fresh’ eyes.
Marketing experts say putting your small business, services and products, in front of new audiences or fresh eyes can lead to new revenue streams.
One way to do that is by widening your reach – start selling on new (to your business) platforms such as Amazon, Etsy, Walmart, etc.
“Different platforms like these drive their own traffic, have their own loyal customers and have a substantially larger marketing budget to drive sales,” says Jacqueline Snyder, co-owner of the podcast and coaching platform Product Boss.
The impact on your sales could be huge. Last year, Amazon reported more than 213 million visitors to its site. “That type of retail traffic is impossible for a small-business owner to generate independently,” writes Snyder in a blog for niche journalism site Next Avenue.
Know your customer, and business.
Before adding a new sales platform or embarking on any new potential revenue stream, be sure to do your research.
The idea that you’ll have a game-changer on your hands is exciting. But to find the successful means to new revenue, you’ll want to choose what best aligns with your customers and business.
Review your customer data against new platforms to see what sites are a good fit for your products and services, and your customers. Would they shop there?
Also, consider whether your small business has the capability of working within the requirements of a new selling platform, and if not, look at what it would take to comply.
For example, in the Next Avenue blog, Snyder cites a small business client who had an opportunity to sell her products on Wayfair. But she had to decide if it was even possible for her business to meet the retail giant’s vendor requirements, including stringent shipping rules and timelines.
“For my client, that meant it needed to be available every single day to ship one of its products if an order came in,” Synder writes.
In the end, the client decided to hire a new team member dedicated to Wayfair shipping so she could make it work – and be worth it for her business.
Create a storefront on social media.
Your business might be able to tap a new source of revenue by setting up a shop on social media.
Look at selling your products or services via Facebook Shops, which was launched in May 2020 as a free and simple vehicle for businesses to set up a single online store that’s accessible to customers from Facebook and Instagram.
“Businesses can choose the products they want to feature from their catalog and then customize the look and feel of their shop with a cover image and accent colors that showcase their brand,” Facebook said in announcing the shop.
“This means any seller, no matter their size or budget, can bring their business online and connect with customers wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them.”
Using Facebook’s commerce manager tool could result in a massive influx of new sales, writes Jared Atchison, co-founder of drag & drop form builder WPForms, in a post on the Business 2 Community or B2C forum.
“Some of your followers might be on the fence about completing their orders on your website,” he says. “The ability to browse your catalog and buy directly from your social media page could be just the thing to turn subscribers into loyal customers.”
